Wednesday, August 15, 2012

I recently entered two photos in the Labor Heritage Foundation "Occupy Now!" photography contest. One submission, "Rise Up-We Are The 99%" won first prize for amateurs. (http://www.laborheritage.org/?p=2544)

In 1901 a section of wall of what was to become the Columbus Circle station was set aside so ceramic and other companies could install their wares for inspection by the Rapid Transit Commission. (The New York Times, May 26, 1901) Among these companies was the American Encaustic Tiling Company, which was hoping to obtain a contract to tile the subway stations' walls with plain tiles. According to a plaque in the Columbus Circle station, "Though these American Encaustic wall tiles were not selected, the company produced decorative tiles and mosaics for many original 1904 IRT stations, and larger plaques for stations built in the 1910s."

Plaque in the Columbus Circle station that explains the AET exhibit. The wall at the top is where the tiles were exhibited. (Photo courtesy of Michael Padwee)

"Another keyhole to the past opened recently on the uptown platform of the No. 1 train at the...Columbus Circle station...: an interwoven guilloche pattern--...in red and yellow mosaic tiles. ...Next to the guilloche border is a large blue-gray mosaic medallion, enclosing a four-lobed pattern known as a quatrefoil. ...In 'Silver Connections' (1984), his monumental history and description of the New York subway, Philip Ashforth Coppola...wrote '[in 1901]...architects used its [Columbus Circle Station's] walls as an art gallery, experimenting with decorative ideas... .' After their brief service..., 'all these preliminary experiments were covered over and forgotten.'" (David W. Dunlap, "Behind an Old Subway Wall, a Glimpse of an Even Older One", The New York Times, October 20, 2010, http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/antique-mosaic-comes-to-light-not-far-from-where-the-coliseum-stood/) From the first contract to build a subway system in 1900 there was an emphasis on art in public areas.William Barclay Parsons, the chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission, hired George Heins and Christopher LaFarge as consulting architects for the IRT subway system. (Lee Stookey, Subway Ceramics: A History and Iconography, published by Lee Stookey, Brooklyn, NY, 1992, p. 14) "All of the station...[construction] was designed by the engineers of the Rapid Transit Board under Parsons' direction. The raw brick walls and concrete ceilings were then turned over to Heins and LaFarge to be 'beautified.' The decorative scheme that they devised was certainly influenced by Parsons... . Heins and LaFarge's plans were subject to the final approval of Parsons, who delegated authority to D. L. Turner, assistant engineer in charge of stations for the Rapid Transit Subway Construction Company. August Belmont also oversaw station decoration; he approved of the first completed station at Columbus Circle, but complained of the use of too much brick at Astor Place, 50th Street, and 66th Street. [Heins and LaFarge had designed the Zoo in the Bronx and] ...carried several techniques from that project into the subway. These included Guastavino arches and vaulted ceilings, polychrome tile, and ornamental figures... .

How a subway station wall area originally looked. ("Subway Stations in New York City", Brick, Vol. XIX, No. 3, September 1903, p. 93)

Original station decorative scheme

"In general, the station finish consisted of a sanitary cove base that made the transition from floor to wall, upon which rested a brick or marble wainscot for the first two and one-half feet or so of wall area. This wainscot was applied to withstand the hard usage that the lower wall would be subjected to. The wainscot was completed by either a brick or marble cap, and the remainder of the wall area was covered with three by six-inch white glass tiles, completed near the ceiling by a cornice or frieze. The wall area was divided into fifteen foot panels, the same spacing as the platform columns, by the use of colored tiles or mosaic... . The full station name appeared on large tablets of either mosaic tile, faience, or terra-cotta at frequent intervals, while smaller name plaques were incorporated into the cornice every fifteen feet. Sharp corners were eliminated and junctions between walls were curved to prevent chipping and facilitate cleaning. ...the stations exhibit considerable variation in color and detail. A conscious effort was made by the architects to create a distinct wall treatment for each station, both to relieve monotony and assist in the identification of different locations, and the 'extent of the decoration varies with the relative importance of the stations.' Wherever possible, a local association was worked into the decorative scheme, such as the seal of Columbia University at 116th and Broadway. Heins and LaFarge used a number of different details to add interest to the stations."(Architectural Designs for New York's First Subway, David J. Framberger, Survey Number HAER NY-122, pp.365-412, Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240)

A Grueby Faience ad in the 1905 Catalogue of the Twentieth Annual Exhibition of the Architectural League of New York.

Heins and LaFarge also worked with designers and producers of ceramics. Two of the most prominent were William M. Grueby of the Grueby Faience Company of Boston, and William Watts Taylor, president of the Rookwood Pottery of Cincinnati, Ohio. "...Grueby...was responsible for many of the distinctive early plaques: the ship at Columbus Circle, the eagle at 33rd Street, the beaver at Astor Place and a similar plaque for 50th Street, wreath-like medallions at 116th Street and 14th Street..., and the blue oval sign at Bleecker Street...[,] also...the heavy-bordered name panel at 28th Street and smaller letter and number signs and medallions at Brooklyn Bridge, 18th Street..., 42nd Street, 103rd Street, and 110th Street."(Lee Stookey, Subway Ceramics: A History and Iconography, published by Lee Stookey, Brooklyn, NY, 1992, p. 16)

Astor Place Beaver plaque. 2012 photo, Michael Padwee

In March 2000 a Grueby beaver plaque was going to be auctioned off by the Cincinnati Art Galleries in Cincinnati, Ohio. According to its description it was "formerly of the New York Subway System...[i]nstalled, circa 1905, at Astor Place Station...[and r]emoved during [an] official renovation sometime in the 1960s... . The tile measures 25 by 14 inches and is signed 'MC+' on its right side in green slip." (Lot 120, "Art Tile Auction, March 1 Thru 9, 2000" [catalog], Cincinnati Art Galleries, Cincinnati, Ohio) Although this historic plaque had been sold previously and had been part of a joint exhibit by a gallery and a museum, it wasn't until this auction that a number of people thought the tile might actually belong to the City of New York and demanded that it be pulled from the auction.

Another renovation in 2012, but the Grueby plaques remain. (Photo courtesy of Michael Padwee)

An Atlantic Terra Cotta letter-cartouche at Canal Street

Atlantic Terra Cotta Company

Along with Rookwood and Grueby "...the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company...joined the project...[and was] responsible for shield-like cartouches at Canal Street, Worth Street..., Spring Street and Third Avenue in the Bronx. Atlantic Terra Cotta also produced small number panels for several stations...by ingenious mass-production: a standard plaque, bordered with cornucopias, was designed to receive a separately molded panel with the street number...on it. Examples can be seen in several stations including 86th Street, 137th Street, 145th Street and 157th Street." (Lee Stookey, Subway Ceramics: A History and Iconography, published by Lee Stookey, Brooklyn, NY, 1992, p. 16)

A mass produced, Atlantic Terra Cotta Company cornucopia and street number panel

"During the first quarter of the 20th century the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company was the largest producer of architectural terra cotta in the world. By 1908 the firm operated four plants including Perth Amboy and Rocky Hill, N.J.; Staten Island, N.Y. and Eastpoint, Ga. (near Atlanta). The company maintained branch offices in New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Dallas and Newark, N.J. William H. Wilson presided as company president during peak years of production.

National production of terra cotta quadrupled from 1900 to 1912, and the industry prospered throughout the 1920s. Terra cotta provided the ideal facade for the high rise, metal skeletal, constructed buildings. Atlantic Terra Cotta manufactured products for forty percent of the terra cotta buildings in New York City...", as well as for the subway system. The company closed in 1943. (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utaaa/00038/aaa-00038.html)

Hartford Faience

Both William Grueby and Eugene Atwood worked for the Low Art Tile Works in Chelsea, Massachusetts in the 1880s. They formed a partnership in an architectural faience company in 1891, and in 1894 Atwood formed the Atwood Faience Company of Hartford, Connecticut, which later became the Hartford Faience Company. At the same time Grueby formed his own company in South Boston. (Susan J. Montgomery, The Ceramics of William H. Grueby, Arts and Crafts Quarterly Press, Lambertville, NJ, 1993, pp. 13-16) Hartford Faience supplied some of the plaques and cartouches for at least the Borough Hall Station in Brooklyn, and the South Ferry Station in Manhattan.

`From "Hartford" Faience and Tiles 1910, a reprint of an original catalog, owned and published by Antique Articles, artiles@antiquearticles.com, c. 2000

A Borough Hall (Brooklyn) plaque and surrounding mosaic tiling

Hartford Faience was at it's high point about 1904 when the company participated in the St. Louis World's Fair with an impressive display that included it's famous "Sun (or "Fire") Worshipers" fireplace panel.

9' x 5' "Sun-Worshipers" or "Fire-Worshipers" panel

Rookwood Faience

The Rookwood Pottery Company of Cincinnati, Ohio created a number of the tile plaques and other tile ornamentation in some Heins and LaFarge stations. Rookwood's company records note that the pottery's faience division was responsible for the 23rd, 79th, 86th, and 91st Street stations and the large plaques at Wall and Fulton Streets. (Lee Stookey, Subway Ceramics: A History and Iconography, published by Lee Stookey, Brooklyn, NY, 1992, pp. 16+)

A Rookwood plaque and faience "W" panel installed at the Wall Street IRT #6 station

"Maria Longworth Nichols Storer founded Rookwood Pottery in 1880 as a way to market her hobby - the painting of blank tableware. Through years of experimentation with glazes and kiln temperatures, she eventually built her own kiln, hired a number of excellent chemists and artists who were able to create high-quality glazes of colors never before seen on mass-produced pottery." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rookwood_Pottery_Company)

A picture post card from the author's collection

"In 1883, Nichols hired William Watts Taylor (1847-1913) as the general business manager of Rookwood pottery. Taylor’s goals for Rookwood echoed those of [William] Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement which was to restore quality and integrity to the arts. Taylor was adamant about nurturing innovative ideas and even commissioned leading chemists, such as Karl Langenbeck (1861-1938), to aid in the development of new glazes. The results were the extraordinary glazes that were at the time exclusive to Rookwood pottery. It was under Taylor’s command that Rookwood would reach the summit of its success." (Daneel S. Smith, "Rookwood Pottery as 'Fine Art'", http://journal.utarts.com/articles.php?id=1&type=paper)

"In 1902, Rookwood added architectural pottery to its portfolio. Under the direction of Watts Taylor, this division rapidly gained national and international acclaim. Many of the flat pieces were used around fireplaces in homes in Greater Cincinnati and surrounding areas, while custom installations found their places in grand homes, hotels, and public spaces. Even today, Rookwood tiles decorate Carew Tower, Union Terminal (Cincinnati) and Dixie Terminal in Cincinnati, as well as the Rathskeller Room in The Seelbach Hilton in Louisville, Ky. In New York, the Vanderbilt Hotel, Grand Central Station, ...Lord and Taylor and several subway stops feature Rookwood tile designs." (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rookwood_Pottery_Company)

Both Rookwood and Grueby have "decorated" other railway facilities throughout the country. Rookwood faience tiles were used in the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company Terminal in Spokane, Washington in 1913, and Grueby faience tiles were used in Scranton, Pennsylvania for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. In 1908 the DL&W dedicated what was to be its "star [terminal]. ...the palatial structure housed one of the most important art tile installations in America--a frieze that circles the waiting-room and consists of thirty-six murals composed of Grueby Faience tiles. Each mural depicts a scene along the railroad's lines beginning at the Hoboken Ferry slips...and ending at Niagara Falls... ." All the panels are two feet high and four to nine feet long. The railroad waiting room is now a restaurant. The story of these murals, written by Dr. Richard D. Mohr and photographed by Robert W. Switzer, can be found online at http://www.aapa.info/ Portals/0/ Lackawana.pdf where this information was obtained.

A view of the D, L & W waiting room with the panels below the balcony in a 1909 photograph, and one of the Grueby panels, below.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The use of ceramics in the New York City subway system is a complicated subject. They were used architecturally, such as their use below with Guastavino vaulting, as well as ornamentally. In addition, contracts were let at different times, and different architects had artistic responsibility for the subway stations: Heins and LaFarge on the first and second contract stations and Squire Vickers on the third and fourth contract lines. However, the artistic tone was set in 1900 by William Barclay Parsons, Chief Engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission, who studied European transit systems and wrote in a contract, "All parts of the structure where exposed to public sight shall therefore be designed, constructed and maintained with a view to the beauty of their appearance, as well as to their efficiency." (Lee Stookey, Subway Ceramics: A History and Iconography, published by Lee Stookey, Brooklyn, NY, 1992, p. 14)

The old City Hall subway station (now closed) from The Brickbuilder , Vol. 13, No. 4, April 1904, p. 85.

One writer has given us a brief history of the subway system, which can be confusing, especially to people who know nothing of IRT, BMT and IND: “the first subway, which ran from City Hall to Broadway and 145th Street and opened in October 1904, was constructed by a company called Interborough Rapid Transit [the IRT line], even though the first route was Manhattan-only. Soon, lines were built into Brooklyn, justifying the name [Interborough]. Beginning in the 1910s, a company called Brooklyn Rapid Transit [BRT] built a network of surface lines and subways between Brooklyn and Manhattan; when that company went bankrupt after a train crash in a tunnel at Malbone Street, Brooklyn, in 1918, it reorganized as Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit, or the BMT. Finally, in the mid-1920s, the City of New York began planning and building its own set of subway lines, called the Independent [the IND line].” (http://forgotten-ny.com/2012/03/high-street-station/) In the 1940s the City took over the whole system.

When the New York City subway system was built in the early 1900s, some of the most famous art tile and terra cotta companies decorated subway stations with faience ornamentation. The R. Guastavino Company was one of them. In 1904 the City Hall Station "...was the City's pride and joy, the flagship station of the long-awaited subway system. Located on a loop of single track, the station presented...unique design possibilities: the platform and track could be bridged by a single snug arch; the...[R. Guastavino Company's] special system of setting tiles in a criss-cross pattern with fast-setting mortar created lightweight, centerless vaults... . ...the arches and vault ribs are edged with colored tile, and there are name plaques on the walls and over the stairway from the platform." (Lee Stookey, Subway Ceramics: A History and Iconography, published by Lee Stookey, Brooklyn, NY, 1992, p. 20) The 1979 Report to the Landmarks Preservation Commission describes the tilework of this station. "The curve of the vaults is ideally suited to the curved configuration of the station as it follows the single loop track. The vaults are constructed of white mat-finished tiles with contrasting green and brown glazed tiles at the edges of the vaults. The younger Rafael Guastavino was especially interested in the development of ornamental and colored ceramic tile for Guastavino vaults. ...Decorative faience plaques in brown, blue, and white with the inscription 'City Hall' are set in the side walls. A large name tablet adorns the arch above the wide staircase leading from the platform to the entrance area." (Marjorie Pearson with David Framberger, Landmarks Preservation Commission Report, Designation List 129 LP-1096, October 23, 1979) This station was closed in 1945 and is currently used as a turn-around loop for the No. 6 local train.

A stable on Long Island with Guastavino vaults from The Brickbuilder, Vol. 13, 1904

We don't usually think of the domes and tiled vaulted arches of the R. Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company of New York as art tiles, but they are intrinsically artistic, and this company also produced what is generally considered "art" tiles for residences and public and private

buildings. The Guastavino Company was founded in 1888. "In the late 19th and early 20th century, Rafael Guastavino Moreno and his son Rafael Guastavino Exposito were responsible for designing tile vaults in nearly a thousand buildings around the world, of which more than 600

survive to the present day. The remaining buildings are found in more than 30 U.S. states, and include major landmarks such as the Ellis Island Registry Hall, the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal, and the Boston Public Library." (http://architecture.mit.edu/class/guastavino/about.html) "Born in Valencia in 1842, Rafael Guastavino i Moreno went to Barcelona in 1861 to train as a builder at the Escuela de Maestros de Obras. By 1866, his precocious professional vision had driven him to start his career as builder and architect even before graduating. His arrival in the United States in 1881 with his son Rafael Guastavino i Expósito, the subsequent founding of his own building company in 1888, the modernization of the traditional laminated tile system and his business vision all led to the reinvention of a new type of public space for the modern American metropolis —space that was excavated from within the architecture itself, conferring an urban dimension to its interiors. The Guastavino Company participated in many of the emblematic buildings of the time in collaboration with the most prestigious American architects. The clarity, texture and geometry that characterize Guastavinian vaulted spaces have invariably been identified with the modern American metropolis which, for the first time, expressed its desire to become a historic city." (http://www.rafaelguastavino.com/en/) The tilework on the exterior of the dome of the Elephant House, above, is somewhat reminiscent of the later Guastavino dome on the State Capitol Building in Lincoln,

Nebraska. On the interior of this building the Guastavino Company worked with the mosaic designs of Hildreth Meière to produce works of art on the walls and ceilings.

Eight Winged Virtues

"Surviving documents illustrate the working relationship during the Nebraska project. Meière sent images of her mural designs to the Guastavino Company, which then fired the correct size and color of the various tiles. The elaborate tile finish work required much more extensive scaffolding than usual for the vault builders. ...the custom tile pieces were cut by hand to size, taking account of the shrinkage which occurred during firing. Due to the

meticulousattention to color, many tiles 'required two and three glaze firings at different temperatures.' Despite this great care, 'Hildreth Meière was a perfectionist and rejected many tiles so the manufacture of many extra batches of tiles became a necessity'." (John Ochsendorf, Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2010, pp. 173-174) In the early years of the twentieth century Rafael Guastavino Jr. experimented with lustre glazes on tiles. In time he developed a series of stable lustre glazes and made reproductions of Spanish and Persian lustre ware.

Guastavino also produced tilework for at least one private residence. The "...architect, Bertram Goodhue (1869-1924)[,] recognized and expanded the decorative possibilities for Guastavino vaulting. ...Goodhue began designing custom decorative tiles in collaboration with Rafael Guastavino Jr., beginning with the Dater Residence in Montecito, California, in 1917." (Ochsendorf, p. 170) Below is a drawing of...art tiles which were installed in the Henry Dater residence in Montecito. Variations of these tiles were also installed in the Washington Hotel, Colon, Panama (1912) and in the Naval Training Center Mess Hall, San Diego, California (1923), which were also designed by Bertram Goodhue.

(Photo taken, with permission, of a framed drawing on a wall of the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York)

The Dater Residence, "Built in the North African manner...was a contrast in styles: plain wall surfaces and simple blocklike forms surrounding a patio covered in tiles. An article on new California houses in Country Life (1920) describes the tiles as being designed by the architect, and the drawings and factory order cards...point to the Guastavino Company as the source of these tiles." (Janet Parks and Alan G. Neumann, The Old World Builds the New: The Guastavino Company and the Technology of the Catalan Vault, 1885-1962, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library and the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York, New York, 1996, pp. 36-39)

Although there are many large projects of the R. Guastavino Company such as the McKinley Memorial in Canton, Ohio or the New York City Municipal Building, there are also some small, more intimate Guastavino tilings. The Tennis House in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, for instance, has Guastavino arched vaulting.

And, at the entrance to Prospect Park at Grand Army Plaza, there are two small dodecahedral structures with Guastavino domes.

In another post I will discuss some of the artistic contributions of the Grueby, Rookwood and Hartford Faience tile and pottery companies, and the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company to the City's subway system in the Heins and LaFarge era.